A man is hired by a gas station owner named Hollis to pump gas until midnight. This is following the second theft of the letter “M” from a sign at the gas station. Every morning before work, the man goes to a diner across the street. After a while he becomes close with a waitress named Shirl. Eventually, Shirl asks the man if he wants to go for a ride after they both get off work at midnight. Shirl picks him up and they decide to drive to the Golden Gate Bridge so that they may smell the ocean. As they are driving, the man tells her that he was a Marine in Vietnam. Eventually, they reach the bridge but do not stay long due to the cold breeze. The two go on several more dates. At one point, the man informs Shirl that his brother died in a Jeep accident in Panama. One night, Shirl invites him over for dinner, but when the man arrives, Shirl is in her underwear and her face is bruised. A drunken man steps out and forces him to leave. Shirl does not appear at the diner for several days, and the man learns that Shirl quit due to problems with her husband. One day, the gas station is robbed and the man is held at gunpoint. However, the situation ends peacefully. After talking with the police, the man gets on a bus. The driver asks him if everything is okay and he responds that it is.